Machines for producing containers



Aug. 26, 1958 S. B. FRANGHIA MACHINES FOR PRODUCING CONTAINERS Filed Feb. 17. 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 26, 1958 s. B. FRANGHIA 2,848,927

MACHINES Foa PRoDucING CONTAINERS Filed Feb. 17. 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 rmz United States Patent MACHINES FOR PRODUCING CONTAINERS Sava Byron Franghia, Paris, France Application February 17, 1955, Serial No. 488,887

2 Claims. (Cl. 93-60) My invention relates to machines for the production of containers from thin sheet material and more especially for the production of hollow receptacles comprising a bottom wall and a side Wall provided with pleats over at least a portion of the periphery, said pleats extending over the entire height of the side wall and the upper part of the wall being cylindrical.

'My invention is directed to crimped cup-making maehines of thetype wherein a punch, which reciprocates along the vertical work axis of the frame of the machine, forces a. disc of thin sheet material from pleating dies int'o cup-shaping dies on each down stroke while the shaping dies and the drive means for the punch cooperate to provide a time interval between the end of the down stroke and the beginning of the up stroke during which the final cup processing operations take place, the cup subsequently falling downwardlythrough an opening formed by the shaping dies.

More especially, the purpose of this invention is to provide an improved means of shaping an outwardly turned ange wherein it is rst turned outwards and then folded inwards, in order to form a seating for the cover inserted into the upper cylindrical portion of the container.

Even though the wall is crimped from the bottom to the upper part, a fully tight container is so constituted, even if it is filled with liquid, provided, however, after the mounting of the cover, some care is taken to bond the cover to the container by suitably crushing it against the horizontal seating of the container.

Other advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. l is a front elevational view showing the"present embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, detail of structure shown in Fig. l to better illustrate the turning action;

Fig. 3 is an external view of the finished container illustrating the complete ilange formed thereon by the mechanism shown in Figs. l and 2.

The machine comprises a frame 1 provided at its upper extremity with bearings 2 in which is journaled a crankshaft 3 supporting at one extremity a drawing pulley 4 adapted to be rotated by any suitable means. Mounted on the crank-pin 5 of the crank-shaft is a downwardly extending connecting-rod 6, the lower extremity of which is pivotally connected to a swivel pin 7 mounted at the extremity of a plunger 8 guided in its vertical reciprocating movement by a guide 9 supported by the frame 1 of the machine.

The lower end of the plunger 8 is cylindrically hollowed to be provided with a cylindrical core 10 carrying a punch 11, said core 10 and punch 11 being able to take a reciprocating movement limited inside the plunger. The punch is biased downwardly by a spring 12.

Around the axis of the punch 11, the frame 1 is equipped with a platform 13, where a central hole 14 has been pierced. The rim of hole 14 surrounds the lower end of the punch at the bottom of its down stroke. The diameter of the hole `14 is somewhat bigger than that of said punch.

The platform 13 carries a doughnut-shaped support 15 on the upper surface 16 of which, the tape is moving. The flan, which is to be converted into a container, is cut out of tape 17.

Said doughnut-shaped support comprises two Iborings with different diameters, the upper boring 18 corresponding to the diameter of the cutting-out tool 19, the lower one 20 being used as housings for the die parts 21; the llat doughnut-shaped surface between both borings 18-20 serving as a support for the pleating members 22 which are placed concentrically around and perpendicularly to the machine axis. -Each movable die part 21 is provided with its own driving rod 23, the end of which forms a cam. The travel of these dies takes place in the horizontal plane perpendicularly to the travel of the punch. Springs 24 are continually biasing said dies outwardly toward their resting position, the parts being then thrust-aside.

A movable ring 25 is installed above the doughnutshaped support 1'5. Its travels take place in the vertical plane and are controlled. The reciprocating movement of the ring 25 is ensured by an articulated fork 26 actuated by a connecting-rod 27, the upper end of which is provided with a roller 28, being moved by a cam 29. The movable ring allows the plunger 18 to pass freely through its center. It has a shoulder for the fastening of a cuttingout tool 19. On the lower face of the ring 25 have been mounted a second series of pleating members 22a similar `to the first ones 22. The movable ring 25 carries also pushing rods 31 going through the fixed doughnut-shaped support 15. The lower ends of said rods bear on the rods 23, so that the downward travel of the ring 25 moves the shaping dies 21 inwardly.

lPlaced lbetween the movable ring 25 and the fixed doughnut-shaped support 15, .a clamping ring 32 stops the tape 17 during the cutting-out and the pleating of the ilan.

The plunger may move with respect to the punch, when the punch has reached the lowest point of its downward travel. v

At the lower portion of the core 10 are to be'found the means for crimping of the upper part of the container. They are constituted by pushers 33 lying perpendi'cular to the `machine axis, ending externally by a chamferr. or bevelled edge,` the height of which corresponds to the size of the pleat to be formed.

These pushers 33 move horizontally and, thanks to the springs 30 which rest on the punch 11, they are normally biased outwards. Of course, all shapes of pushers are possible, either cylindrical or of rectangular section or in form of circular segments. In all cases, said pushers are placed around the .punch 11. A second series of pushers 34 are mounted in a plane parallel to the first one, but slightly raised andare placed inside the fixed doughnut-shaped support 15.

These pushers 3-4 are chamfered towards their inner part, e. g. on the side of the machine axis, and they are normally biased by springs 36 towards said axis.

Fig. 2 shows the punch in the lower position of its downward travel, at the very moment when the sheet of material crimped by the rows of pleating members 22 is being seized between said punch 11 and the parts of juxtaposed shaping die 21. The upper ange of container is then seized between two rows of bevelled pushers 33 and 34 forming an angle, the top of which lies externally. The punch 11 is motionless, but the plunger 8 may still come down; its lower circular end 35 engages and progressively retracts into their housings rst the pushers 34 of the upper row and then the pushers 33 of the lower row. At the maximum of its downward travel, the plunger has retracted all pushers and crushed the pleat on the upper surface 37 of juxtaposed shaping dies 21, shaping in this manner the double-ply ange perpendicularly to the container axis. The external appearance of the latter is then the same as that shown in Fig. 3.

As soon as the crimping of the flange is performed, at rst the plunger 8, then the punch 11, and finally the movable ring 25 go up again. The die parts 21 drawn back by the springs 24 move apart and the nished container is able to fall through the middle hole 14 of the platform 13.

It is, of course, possible to manufacture all profiles and yall sections of containers by a machine of this type, even if said containers have plane surfaces linked by pleated curved surfaces. For the crimping of the flange, it is suicient that the pushers should be disposed according to the section of the container.

It will be appreciated that I have provided a machine for making crimped, hollow, cup-like containers from thin sheet material, comprising: a frame 1'5 providing a path for the ow of said sheet material 16 and having a work axis intersecting that path; a coaxial series of radially movable, segmental shaping dies 21 mounted on the frame under said path for extension to an inner position, in which they are closely assembled to form a downwardly tapered, cup-shaping opening around said work axis, and for retraction therefrom to an outer position, in which they are spaced outwardly from said work axis sufficiently to release a cup within the opening between them; a coaxial series of lower pleating members 22 mounted on the frame under said path; processing means 25, 32, 19, 22a, 31 mounted on the frame for vertical reciprocating movement and operable, on the down stroke, to clamp (32) a web of material in said path against said frame, to cut (19) from said clamped web a coaxial disc of material having a central area, a surrounding area and a circumferential or marginal area, to press (22a) the surrounding area of said cut disc downwardly into pleating engagement with said lower pleating members 22 and to extend said shaping dies 21 to their inner position; a punch 11 shaped to t the assembled opening of said shaping dies and mounted on said frame for vertical reciprocating movement centered on said work axis and operable, on the down stroke, to engage the central areas of said cut disc, push it downwardly and thereby pull the surrounding area of the disc progressively from said pleating dies so as to form a pleated cup progressively while simultaneously forcing it downwardly into said cup-shaping opening and against said shaping dies; `drive means for moving said dies, proc- .4 essing means and punch in timed relationship; an inside coaxial series of horizontally spaced, radially movable, outwardly biased pushers 33 mounted on said punch for vertical movement bodily therewith, said pushers being positioned to engage the inner side of the upper end margin of a cup in said shaping dies and bend the lower portion thereof outwardly; and a corresponding outside coaxial series of horizontally spaced, radially movable, outwardly biased pushers 34 mounted on said frame in position to engage the outer side of the upper end margin of a cup in said shaping dies and bend the upper portion thereof inwardly; said drive means and shaping dies and a spring 12 cooperate to provide a time interval between the end of the down stroke and the beginning of the up stroke of the punch; and means operative, during said time interval, to retract said inside and outside pushers away from said bent upper end margins and to flatten said margin.

lI claim:

1. An improvement in crimped cup-making machines of the type wherein a punch, which reciprocates along the vertical work axis of the frame of said machine, forces a disc of thin sheet material from coaxial pleating dies into coaxial cup shaping dies on each down stroke while the dies and the punch drive means cooperate to provide a time interval between the end of said down stroke and the beginning of the up stroke, comprising: an inside coaxial series of horizontally spaced, radially movable, outwardly biased pushers mounted on said punch for vertical movement bodily therewith, said pushers being positioned to engage the inner side of the upper end margin of a cup in said shaping dies and bend the lower portion thereof outwardly; and a corresponding outside coaxial series of horizontally spaced, radially movable, inwardly biased pushers mounted on said frame in position to engage the outer side of the upper end margin of a cup in said shaping dies and bend the upper portion thereof inwardly.

2. The machine of claim 1 including: means operative, during said time interval, to retract said inside and outside pushers away from said bent upper end margins and to flatten said margin.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 891,642 Tietzmann June 23, 1908 1,844,500 Dailey Feb. 9, 1932 2,136,308 Miller Nov. 8, 1938 2,415,925 Wiley Feb. 18, 1947 

